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‘Proper Black’ Barbecoa braised short beef ribs

16 Feb

I’m quite pathetic when it comes to cooking meat. I just don’t have it in me. Unforutnately neither does Jack – don’t tell him I said that though. The thing is, we just don’t tend to buy it. I’ll happily order a meat dish at a restaurant because I know it’s going to be so much better than my attempts.

But when the email from Barbecoa arrived in my inbox telling me about a fantastic competition called #BBshortrib, I couldn’t resist. All I needed to do was pick five short ribs up from Barbecoa Butchers on Friday 10th February, cook them over the weekend and take them to be re heated at the restaurant on the Monday evening. It all sounded easy.

As usual, I was slightly unprepared with my recipe but I knew I wanted to do something a bit different. I had a feeling that lots of entrants would be BBQing them, or braising them in red wine. So I did something a little different – I braised them in ‘Proper Black’, a delicious dark pale ale from St Austell Brewery in Cornwall. The ale is black as stout and powerful hops dominate the restarained chocolate and coffee notes from the carefully selected roasted malt. This bottle had been sitting in my cupboard waiting to be consumed but rather than drinking, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do something a little different.

Ribs

During the cooking process, we almost burned down the kitchen, yes really. The pot that we were using cracked and hot oil seeped out onto the extremely hot hob. When we moved the pan away, huge flames exploded. Luckily we slid the pan back over the fire, which restricted the oxygen supply. My boyfriend shouted ‘throw some water over it’ and I screamed noooooooooo. I knew that fire marshal training would come in handy one day… After some googling, we found the best ways to deal with a fire in the kitchen:

1) Throw a damp towel over the flame
2) Cover the flame with baking power
3) Place a lid on top of the burning pan
4) Use a fire extinguisher (yes, I’ll just go and get that from under the stairs then…..!!!)

After we (and the fire) had calmed down, we carried on and produced something utterly delicious. Thick, syrupy and rich, the sauce was to die for. The meat was tender and I was wondering why we don’t cook meals like this very often. Unfortunately we were unable to eat much of it as we had to reserve it for the all important judging the next day but the little bit we tasted whet our appetites!

We were all set on the Monday, Jack was going to bring the ribs with him after work (he works from home) and I was going to meet him there. But disaster struck – at 5pm I still had not heard from him. When my phone went off shortly after, I knew something was wrong. Jack had been in a meeting all day away from home unexpectedly and there was not enough time to go home to pick them up and arrive at Barbecoa on time. The ribs were stranded in the fridge and we had to pull out. Disaster.

I followed the competition on Twitter and was unsurprised to see that most had cooked BBQ short ribs. I wish we could have gone, it looked like a lot of fun. At least we got to enjoy our ribs for dinner that evening and I’ve decided that I’ll be taking a trip back to Barbecoa to explore other cuts and broaden my meaty repertoire.

Proper Black braised Barbecoa short ribs (adapted from David Lebobitz)

Ingredients

5 short ribs
Salt and freshly-ground pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
350ml Proper Black pale ale
10 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons Chinese or Japanese rice vinegar
50g dark chocolate
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

For the hoisin sauce (makes what is needed for recipe)

4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp molasses or 1 tablespoon honey
2 tsp seasoned rice vinegar
1 garlic clove , finely minced
2 tsp sesame seed oil
1 tsp chinese hot sauce (to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Method

1. Rub the ribs generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large roasting pan and fry the short ribs until each side is very dark
2. Remove the ribs from the pan, then turn off the heat and deglaze the pan with the pale ale. Scrape up the browned bits stuck to the pan with a firm spatula, then stir in the garlic and ginger
3. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C
4. Add the ribs back to the pan and mix in the vinegar, chocolate, and chili powder
5. Cover and let simmer for 3 hours, turning the short ribs a few times while they’re cooking. The ribs are done when they’re fork-tender and falling off the bone.
6. Meanwhile, make the hoisin sauce by mixing all of the ingredients together and whisk until well blended
7. Once ribs have simmered, remove the lid, stir in the hoisin sauce, place in the oven, reduce the heat to 150 degrees C and cook for another 30 minutes

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East Street, Rathbone Place

14 Feb

It is Tuesday evening and my stomach is rumbling. I leave the office and venture towards Oxford Circus to meet Jack. I walk down the escalator at Uni Qlo and find him standing staring at a rainbow of socks. He turns around, arms full of multi coloured cottons, I give him a quick peck and tell him where we are heading. You see, he has the knack of never quite knowing what we’re doing. I am in charge of the diary – all I need to do is tell him where to meet me and I’ll quite often lead him to where we need to be.

The restaurant in question this evening is East Street, a newly opened Fitzrovia joint serving a range of dishes inspired by the founder’s travels across Asia. Upon arrival, Jack turned to me and said ‘this is impressive’. He was talking about the way in which the restaurant has been decorated. Multi coloured signs hang from the ceiling, long communal tables fill the main dining area and colourful chairs, food products and travel paraphernalia provide a warming welcome. I was surprised, not because I didn’t think that interior was impressive, but because Jack rarely gives such accolades. He is a designer and has a very critical eye – if he thinks the design of the restaurant is average, he’s usually right, annoyingly. On this occasion he was right, but on first impressions the restaurant lacked something – buzz. But this was probably down to the fact that we arrived at 6.30, which is relatively early, particularly on a Tuesday evening.

East Street Interior

We were seated at a table for two towards the back of the restaurant and left to peruse the menu. There was a lot of perusing to do – the menu was huge. Slightly overwhelmed by the amount of dishes presented to us on one huge card menu, we started with a bowl of freshly steamed and crisp edamame (£3.95). Good start, but then you can hardly go wrong with that. This was followed by Tod Man Khao Pod (£4.25), a plate of crisp corn fritters with a delicious chili and peanut dip. We also shared a plate of Gyoza (£4.95), which had a crisp exterior and a minced pork, bamboo shoot and spring onion filling.

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For mains, we shared the Khao Soi aka Changmai Noodles (£8.95) and the Chicken Abobo (£7.50). I was slightly surprised at the small portions on arrival but this surprise was quickly diminished as my stomach started to tell me that she was getting full. The Khao Soi was a mixture of tender chicken breast cooked in a red curry sauce with yellow noodles, topped with fresh lime and a smattering of coriander. It was a tasty dish but disappointed on the spice front, particularly as the menu stipulated that it was a spicy dish with two red chillies next to the name.

The Chicken Abobo was not so great. A plate of chicken coated in a slightly gloopy and almost tasteless sauce was the low light of the evening. The accompanying sweet potato slices resembled vegetable crisps – not bad but not expected.

Our empty plates were efficiently swiped away from us and replaced with the dessert menu. We chose the Khao Niaow Mamuang (£5.25) and Bubor Pulot Hitta (£4.50) – two out of the three most exotic sounding desserts on the menu. I had previously read a review of East Street by Hollowlegs and she wasn’t overly pleasant about the Khao Niaow Mumuang, stating that the mango was not ripe and the rice was sticky and glutinous. Unfortunately I cannot compare it to the ‘real thing’ but this was my favourite dish of the evening. My mango was ripe, the rice sticky sweet with a good addition of coconut cream. My only complaint is that there wasn’t enough cream.

The second dessert, Bubor Pulot Hitta, didn’t prove so popular – neither of us really liked it. We found it to be a little flavourless and not creamy and sugary as the menu stated.

I so badly didn’t want East Street to be more style over substance but I couldn’t help feeling that way, just a teensy little bit. I love the authentic touches – the travel paraphernalia stuck to the walls (diners are encouraged to bring their own and add to the collection), the flight announcements in the toilets, the colourful website and signs. But the food lacked punch and we left having had an enjoyable meal but without the dishes leaving a lasting impression.

Food For Think was a guest at East Street

East Street
3-5 Rathbone Place
London
W1T 1HJ
0207 3230860

East Street Restaurant on Urbanspoon

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Tamarai, Drury Lane

23 Jan

When War Horse first opened at the New London theatre, I was desperate to go. But for some reason or other I never made it. Fast forward almost three years and I had almost forgotten that the production was still running. That was until last week when I visited a Tamarai restaurant a few doors down on Drury Lane. Feeling slightly envious as I walked past the crowd of theatre goers, I walked into Tamarai and down the stairs into the dimly lit restaurant where my friend was waiting for me at the table, fanning herself manically. For a mid January evening, it was mild outside and rather hot inside.

I was at Tamarai to try out the £15 for three courses set menu. Usually when I see such an offer, I recoil and attempt to avoid at all costs but after some hardcore investigation (ten minutes on google), I was convinced to try it. So I did. And it was really rather good.

The waiters are the shy but efficient and extremely pleasant kind and were over straight away to take our orders. First thing was first, a cocktail. We both chose the Citrus Fling (£9), a fruity and sweet muddle of lemongrass vodka, lime, green tea cordial and cherry liquor. To our delight, they arrived ice cold and very alcoholic, whilst being almost too easy to sip back. You know, the kind that makes your ears feel hot after a couple of sips.

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For starter, I chose the Chettinad fish 65 with tomato pickle mayo and my friend the steamed chicken dim sum. I was very tempted by the Duke of Berkshire pork belly for main but was slightly sceptical as it wasn’t the most authentic sounding dish, considering we were dining in a pan Asian restaurant, so instead I chose the Thai green chicken curry. My friend went for the black tiger prawns, a dish that I avoid like the plague after seeing my boyfriend with food poisoning after eating tiger prawns a few years ago.

The starters were small but very enjoyable. My South Indian Chettinad style fish had a subtle spice, the batter crispy and not too oily. My friends dumplings were also delicious and upon first bite, I was transported straight back to Hong Kong where I had fresh delicious Dim Sum a plenty back in October.

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The mains arrived, each with a small bowl of steamed Jasmine rice. The Thai green curry was very creamy with just the right amount of spice. The chicken was tender and I polished the whole lot off pretty quickly. The prawns, I am told, were very good. The portion was small but I was glad. The amount of times I have left a restaurant after eating three large courses and feeling ill for the rest of the evening are countless.

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For dessert, both of us ordered sticky toffee pudding with galangal glaze and banana ice cream. Again, the portion was small but it was just enough to satisfy my post dinner sweet tooth. I couldn’t detect any banana in the ice cream, which was a shame, but the pudding itself was sticky and sweet – just perfect.

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Tamarai is an interesting establishment. The décor is dark and glitzy and we both agreed that we felt like we had been transported back to a the 90s, or that we were extras in an episode of Sex and the City. I was half expecting to see young girls with sky scraper heels and impossibly short skirts grinding to 50 Cent on the roped off dancefloor in the corner. But instead what I saw were couples of similar ages and a couple of large groups, all quietly enjoying their dinner. Perhaps the short skirts make an appearance late night.

I’m not saying that this was the best pan Asian food that I have ever eaten, because it wasn’t. And I probably wouldn’t go back for a full priced meal, but I’ll say it again, the three course meal for £15 is very good value.

Food For Think was a guest at Tamarai.

167 Drury Lane
London
WC2B 5PG
020 7831 9399
Tamarai on Urbanspoon

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Town Hall Hotel staycation

6 Nov

I lived in Bethnal Green during my second year at university. And although I left after a year, it still has a special place in my heart as it was the first area that I lived with a friend in a (rented) flat after enduring the squalid living conditions of rancid university halls.

At the time I wanted to get away. Apart from a few pubs down to road in Shoreditch and some extraordinarily grungy clubs in Dalston, there was nothing else for me in the area. This was before the ‘foodie’ regeneration of East London. When I lived in the area, there was no Kêu!, no Shoreditch Grind, no Allpress Espresso, no Albion – you get the picture.

There was also no Town Hall Hotel, although unbeknownst to me work had already started on the regeneration of the building to turn it into one of London’s most desirable hotels with a Michelin starred restaurant to boot. The building had lain dormant for 10 years before Singapore hotelier and restaurateur Loh Lik Peng bought it and spent the next 5 years renovating it. And I’m so glad he did.

Situated on Cambridge Heath Road, Town Hall Hotel sits proud in the old heritage listed Bethnal Green Town Hall and features Michelin starred restaurant, Viajante by Nuno Mendes, a separate hotel bar across the hall and the newly opened Corner Room (also by Mendes). I have dined at Corner Room a few times for lunch recently but I’ll save that for another post.

I was invited to review the hotel and I decided to do it the night before my trip to Hong Kong as I had booked the next day off. It was also a night that I’d booked tickets to see Baxter Dury at Hoxten Kitchen down the road so it worked out perfectly. I had planned to have a quick meal at nearby Busaba before heading to the gig but my mind was changed after checking into my room following a lunch at Corner Room that afternoon.

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After being greeted by a wonderfully polite bell boy who carried my suitcase up the stairs to reception, I checked in and was shown to my room. As I entered I immediately felt a sense of calm. The high ceilings, white walls, mid century modern furniture, polished wooden floors and total cleanliness and simplicity of the room won me over. The small room is multifunctional and the architects (Rare) have made incredible use of the limited space, making it feel bigger than it actually is. The bathroom opens out to the bedroom and is separated only by a large glass wall. At first I was surprised how open it was, until I discovered a hidden door and a white curtain to shield you from the world. All amenities are crisp white and complimentary L’Occitane toiletries stand on top of the sleek sink unit. A large column runs down the middle of the room from floor to ceiling, which houses a concealed kitchen on one side and the bathroom on the other. Open a set of folding white doors on the left hand side to reveal a kitchen with ALL of the mod cons – microwave, oven, pots and pans, even a dish washer and washing machine! I couldn’t contain my excitement and changed my mind about dinner immediately. With a quick stop off at a local supermarket on my way back to the hotel from the office, my dinner plans were sorted.

As I was cooking a dinner of pan fried sea bass with chilli and garlic tender stem broccoli and creamy mash, I heard a knock at the door. I hastily opened and was greeted by a huge silver tray full of truffles. The two members of staff that were delivering them excitedly placed four in my hands and were off in a flash, giggling down the hall. The truffles were enjoyed with an espresso from a nippy machine in the room after our dessert of tart au citron with fresh raspberries. Ok so I cheated with the mash and dessert but it was cheaper and more satisfying than dining out. Any hotel that includes a kitchen in your room is a complete winner for a keen cook.

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We arrived back from the gig at around 11pm and decided to make use of the swimming pool located in the basement, which stays open until midnight. The pool room is beautiful – white with splashes of gold and dark blue pool tiles, which make the water look moody and inviting. The water was just warm enough to slip straight in and after a few lengths we retreated to bed.

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We awoke early for breakfast (which is not included in the price of the room) at Corner Room. We were presented with a choice of a continental buffet (£6.50) or dishes off the menu. Dishes varied from roasted mushrooms with hash brown & duck egg to homemade muesli with yoghurt. We opted for the avocado on toast and poached eggs with chorizo & paprika. I wasn’t so sure about the sunflower seeds on top of the avocado and I thought that the chorizo dish should have come with a slice of toast, despite the addition of tiny chunks of potato, but the small dices of oily rich chorizo and perfectly cooked poached eggs definitely awoke the taste buds. After grabbing the newspapers from the desk at the entrance, we sat down and enjoyed breakfast at a leisurely pace as the sun shone through onto our faces. We didn’t touch the continental breakfast, although I was lusting over the mini rich and buttery pain au chocolate and croissants and the most fantastic raisin and walnut bread.

Check out time at Town Hall Hotel is midday, which gave me enough time to have a rest in the room before heading to the gym for a work out. With state of the art equipment, I was wishing that I could get the lift down to that gym every morning!

I reluctantly left the hotel dead on midday when I was thinking to myself ‘what would it take to LIVE somewhere like this?’ This is my perfect hotel. Quite literally everything is excellent – the service, the furniture, the vintage music playing in reception, the marble staircases, the feeling that you’re in an old black and white film, the high ceilinged rooms, the beautiful pool and gym, the exquisite food, the free house cocktail at the Viajante bar – I could go on. If you don’t live in London, I advise you to stay here when you visit. If you do live in London, book a staycation. I promise you, it will be one of the most calming hotel stays of your life.

Food For Think was a guest at Town Hall Hotel.

Rooms are priced between £290 and £2,500

Town Hall Hotel & Apartments
Patriot Square
London E2 9NF
020 7871 0460

Corner Room on Urbanspoon

Malmaison Manchester review

10 Oct

It’s back to work today after an extremely eventful weekend and there’s one thing sticking in my mind – the wonderful stay at the Malmaison in Manchester on Friday evening. I was invited to try out the new restaurant and cocktail bar Smoak and Embers, along with an overnight stay. We arrived, threw our bags down and retreated to the buzzing restaurant. We were sat on a table for two right next to another couple who took great pleasure in listening to our conversation more than concentrating on their own. And despite taking pictures of the food themselves on a small compact digital camera, they looked gobsmacked when I got my DSLR out. Luckily they only ordered a main and were gone before our mains arrived.

Malmaison Manchester is situated in the heart of Manchester, literally a stones throw away from Piccadilly station and I get the feeling that Smoak is a destination restaurant in it’s own right, rather than just the usual run of the mill hotel restaurants. Having visited the London Malmaison and enjoyed my meal at the restaurant there, the two differ somewhat. I hate to use the words cool and trendy but that is pretty much a good way to describe Smoak. Old hessian coffee sacks line the windows and old crates line the partitions between the seating areas. There is even a beautiful old gas pump sitting in the entrance. The menu isn’t half bad either. As we had been awake for 17 hours by the time we sat down to eat, we weren’t ravenous so ordered a main each, a side and a salad to share. I opted for the special of slow cooked lamb with cheddar mash and a redcurrant jus (£17). Jack went for the peppercorn seared tuna with bok choi and a butternut squash hash brown (£16.50). We shared a side of tenderstem broccoli with a hazelnut crumb (£3.25) and a caprese salad with heritage tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella (£6).

But that was after a few Cornish oysters (£2.75 each), of course, which were delicious as always. The lamb was very tender and the mash creamy, although I didn’t even get a hint of cheddar. The tender stem broccoli was cooked perfectly with just the right amount of crunch and I loved the addition of the hazelnuts. The tuna was perfectly seared and the sweet butternut squash hash brown contrasted well with the fiery peppercorn crust. I couldn’t help thinking that some kind of dressing would have worked well though, perhaps a honey soy. The caprese salad was a delight – the mozzarella smooth, creamy, gooey and the tomatoes firm, juicy and sweet.

We managed to save a little room for dessert and after a quick glance at the menu decided on the baked New York cheesecake (£6) and the profiteroles with ice cream (£6). When they arrived, we picked up our spoons, delved in and indulged. Unfortunately my cheesecake was a big disappointment – since having one at Pizza East in Portobello, I’ve been ordering cheesecake left, right and centre. Smoak’s version wasn’t a patch – the base soggy and the top underwhelming. The profiteroles were ok but not a huge amount better. I thought that they would be similar to a dessert that I ordered at Bistro du Vin in Clerkenwell, alas no. A slight disappointment after such a lovely meal.

Struggling to keep our eyes open, we were invited to have a cocktail in Embers, a delightful little cocktail bar off the back of Smoak. We arrived to see the barman shaking cocktails for a couple canoodling in a dimly lit corner and another couple also fresh from a dinner table not too far from us. After perusing the most fantastic cocktail menu I think I’ve ever seen, I settled for a fizz with pomegranate and dragonfruit. Being a huge fan of grapefruit, jack ordered one called The Criterion and it was sweet, delicious and almost too easy to drink. At first the bar felt a bit quiet and I was conscious that we could all hear each other’s converstaions but as soon as another group came in and filled the space, we felt that we had a bit more privacy.

After one cocktail, we retired to the most comfortable beds I have ever known in a hotel. The rooms at Malmaison are roomy, and extremely comfortable – each has a chaise lounge, a flat screen TV, a docking system, dressing gowns and slippers. Ok, so it’s not TOTAL luxury but there is air conditioning for those hot nights, feather duvets and pillows for extra comfort and a huge bed fit for a king!

After a 10 hour sleep, we were down for breakfast. Malmaison has a consistent breakfast menu across all of the hotels, which I rather like. We opted for eggs benedict and took advantage of the freshly cooked pastries, fresh fruits and juices before setting off on a tour around Manchester for the day. After having stayed at two Malmaison hotels, each different in their own right, I have got the Malmaison bug and I can’t wait to see what other cities have to offer.

Rooms at Manchester Malmaison start from £119 per night.

Food For Think was a guest of Malmaison Manchester.

Smoak Grill on Urbanspoon

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Bread Street Kitchen

3 Oct

Last week I was invited to try out Bread Street Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay’s newest venture. Now, that name might ring a few bells. Yes, he’s the one that shouts and swears a lot on the tele and you may have seen him on programmes such as Hell’s Kitchen. Yes, you all know who he is don’t you.

Already having some very fine establishments under his belt, although I have never visited myself, including Maze, Claridges, Petrus and Plane Food, Gordon has decided to go all East London on us. Earlier in the year I visited Pollen Street Social, Jason Atherton’s (ex Maze) first solo venture, which has a sociable fine dining theme. It was his breakaway from prim and proper fine dining and it allows diners to eat food of fine dining standard but in a more sociable environment. I went in the first week and it was fantastic. Although Gordon has gone a similar route with Bread Street Kitchen, the end result differs completely.

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I love the name Bread Street Kitchen, it conjures up thoughts of freshly baked bread, wood fire ovens and cosy dimly lit tables. What I saw on arrival was not entirely what I was expecting. Situated in One New Change, the building is modern on the outside but the inside design draws upon East London warehouse influences and is extraordinarily vast. I walked through the circular red velvet curtain (very New York) into the downstairs bar/restaurant and immediately became excited. Within three days of being open, the atmosphere was already buzzing with city workers having their obligatory after work cocktail and couples dining and sitting looking into each other’s eyes longingly over a freshly shaken cosmopolitan.

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I was offered a cocktail upon arrival and didn’t have a menu to hand so asked for something fruity and gin based to be prepared for me while I was whisked away on a tour.

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Designed by Russell Sage Studio, the design team raided old schools and hospitals to create a mismatched and extremely ‘of the moment’ decore. Reclaimed school chairs, lamps made from microscopes, mid century modern tables and chairs and a cloak room made of old cupboards to name but a few – I loved it.

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I arrived back at the table to find a delicious looking cocktail staring out at me with half a passion fruit floating on top. I licked my chops and got sipping. It turned out to be one of the highlights of my evening. I later learned that it was the ‘Bread Street Passion’, a mix of chilli infused tequila and cointreau with passion fruit, lime juice and passion fruit syrup. Not quite what I ordered but as they say, the best things are often the unexpected. I ordered a ‘Bread Street Martini’ to go with my meal, which was a mix of Grey Goose cinnamon infused vodka shaken with grapes, hazlenuts, apple and lime. It was sickly sweet in comparison and a bit too much to drink alongside the food but perhaps it would have worked better as an aperatif.

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So, the food. Most of us where slightly overwhelmed by the menu, which is separated into three sections – Raw Bar, Kitchen and Wood Stone and the dishes were extremely varied. After a while I settled on a starter and a main. The lemon and lime marinated tuna caught my eye at first but I ended up opting for the baked burrata, heritage tomato and onion tart. For main, I decided on the sucking pig, partly because I haven’t had it for a very long time and it’s not something I see on many menus anymore and partly because the whole sucking pig lying on the counter at the front of the restaurant had tempted me.

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I devoured my starter but couldn’t help thinking that £10.50 was ever so slightly expensive for a dainty slice of filo pastry topped with a few tomatoes and a dollop of burrata. However, the taste of it was delicious and the addition of lemon zest on top of the burrata was a real winner for me. I also had a taste of the crispy pigs head with lime chilly mayonnaise (£8.50) and while I enjoyed it, I felt that the batter drowned the rich pigs head a bit too much.

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Onto the mains and I was excited to see my sucking pig (£16) put down in front of me. It was just the right portion size with a dollop of spiced apple puree and a nice amount of thin but extremely delicious gravy. I couldn’t have wished for a better main. I also tried the poussin, chimchirri and burnt lemon (£15) and the grilled Aberdeen angus rib-eye and beef marrowbone (£29.50) and both were top class.

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Feeling slightly dazed and full after two courses and two pieces of freshly baked bread and butter (oops), I perused the dessert menu. Of course I had left space. There was no way that a Bread Street Kitchen dessert was going to escape my sugar loving grasp. I’m having a bit of a cheesecake ‘thing’ at the moment so I ordered the vanilla and gingerbread cheesecake with autumn berries (£8).

The cheese part of the cake was delicious, creamy and rich but I couldn’t help but feel ever so slightly disappointed that the gingerbread base wasn’t really a base at all. It could have been a bit thicker, rather than being a mere dusting. I also tasted the pineapple carpacchio, passion fruit and orange sorbet (£7). What is that I hear you ask? It is literally thinly sliced pineapple with a fantastic passion fruit dressing and delectable orange sorbet. Totally and utterly refreshing!

Gordon has gone for a concept that I love in a part of town that unfortunately I don’t frequent. Maybe this will now give me an excuse to trawl the streeta of London’s square mile from time to time then.

Food For Think was a guest at Bread Street Kitchen

Bread Street Kitchen
10 Bread Street
London
EC4M 9AB

Bread Street Kitchen on Urbanspoon

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Quadrille guest post – Enjoying your Fish Responsibly

27 Sep

You can see this post on the Quadrille website here.

Over the last few years, mine and I’m sure a lot of others attention has been brought to the sensitive issue of overfishing, which is happening in seas all over the world. This in turn has lead to a huge shortage of certain species. Celebrated chefs have done their part in educating the masses about which species should and shouldn’t be consumed. Restaurants also had to sit up and realise the problem. And if they continued to serve endangered species, they would be frowned upon. Probably the most well known example is when Nobu continued to serve Blue Fin Tuna, but recommended that their diners either don’t eat it, or ask for an alternative. Odd.

You see, if we carry on eating these endangered species, they’ll quickly fade out and we’ll have to kiss goodbye to them forever. What the likes of Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver have been telling us is to substitute certain species for ones that do exactly the same job. For example, Coley is a great substitute for Cod and will provide a firm and meaty addition to your dish!

But all of this talk about fish has made me want to eat it more. I picked up a little booklet from Selfridges during their month long Project Ocean when I dined at Hix Restaurant, Champagne and Caviar Bar for a sustainable fish supper, hosted by Mark himself, Valentine Warner and Mitch Tonks. Many of the dishes consisted of sea food that I had never tried before, the cuttlefish dish being one of them. It was served grilled in a broad been and edamame broth and was totally delicious. That alone opened my eyes – then I glanced through the little booklet, which detailed all of the fish that we should and shouldn’t be eating. It really is very handy. Whenever I’m planning a fish dish now I’ll glance at the book just to make sure that I’m doing the right thing.

Since I’m cooking more fish at home, I have recently looked to two books for inspiration. Mark Hix’s Fish etc and Jake Tilson’s In at the Deep End. The former is Marks range of classic fish recipes, taking inspiration from his Fish House restaurant down in his home town of Dorset.

The second is from Jake Tilson, a fine artist and designer who overcame his absolute fear of fish, strange I know, by traveling the world and subjecting himself to a wide range of fishy dishes. I haven’t had a chance to try any of the recipes in Jake’s book yet but the seaweed rock cakes are high on my to do list. Not technically a fish dish as such but they look delightful.

I glanced through Mark’s book and immediately stopped on the Thai Baked fish recipe. I’m lucky enough to have dined at The Ivy a few times and each time I opt for this dish. The Ivy chefs use sea bass but to make it at home I chose cod (North East Arctic). The paste that is smothered of the top of the fish is undeniably better than the ready bought stuff in a jar, while the simple dipping sauce of soy sauce, chilli, ginger and (garlic) is unbeatable. I didn’t have a banana leaf and I couldn’t get my hands on one in time so I baked the fish in a bit of tin foil, which worked just as well.



Thai Baked Fish Recipe

Ingredients – Serves 4

1 tbsp light (not toasted) sesame oil

1 small milk chilli, deseeded and roughly chopped

1 lemon grass stalk, peeled and the bulbous end roughly chopped

20g galangal or root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

4 lime leaves, roughly chopped

½ tsp ground cumin

10g coriander leaves

20g Thai basil

4 cod fillets, each about 200g, with skin, scaled and any residual bones removed

1 banana leaf , about 1 meter in size (I used tin foil)

For the dipping sauce:

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

1 tbsp finely chopped galangal or root ginger

1 tbsp finely chopped lemon grass\2 lime leaves

1 garlic clove, crushed

3 tbsp soy sauce

For the fragrant rice:

2 lemon grass stalks, bulbous ends crushed

8 lime leaves

salt

225g basmati rice, rinsed well in cold water

Method

1. pre heat the oven to 200 degrees / gas 6. First, make the dipping sauce: heat the sesame oil in a pan and dry the chilli, galangal, lemon grass, lime leaves and garlic gently for 1 minute to soften them and release their flavours. Add the soy sauce, bring to the boil, the allow to cool and pour into a bowl or, ideally, individual dipping sauce dishes.

2. Now make the fragrant rice: cook the lemon frass with the lime leaves in about 1 litre of simmering salted water for 10 minutes. Add the rice and simer for 10-12 minutes more until it is just cooked. Drain in a colander, then return the rice to the pan, cover it with a lid and tne let it stand for 10 minutes before serving. This will help it become nice and fluffy.

3. While the rice is cooking, prepare the fish: heat the sesame oil in a pan and gently cook the chopped chilli, lemon grass, galangal, garlic, lime leaves and ground cumin in it for a couple of minutes until the aromatics are soft. Then tip the pan’s contents into a food processor with the coriander and Thai basil, together with a couple of tablespoons of water, and blend to a paste. Spread the paste on the fish fillets and wrap each one in a piece of banana leaf like a parcel, folding the leaf so that the edges join underneath the fillet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the tip of a skewer inserted into the centre of a parcel comes out hot.

4. Place a fish parcel on each plate with a little pot of the dipping sauce. Serve the rice either in individual bowls or in a large bowl to be passed around.

If you’re unsure, here are a few suggestions of what species to avoid and what to replace them with:

Farmed Turbot instead of Brill

Pollack instead of Hake

Coley or Pollack instead of Ling

Skipjack Tuna instead of Marlin

Lemon Sole instead of Plaice

Lemon Sole instead of Dover Sole

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Hong Kong – Live in London. Monday 12th – Sunday 18th September

11 Sep

On your marks, get set, GO! Although our experience of the Hong Kong tourism board treasure hunt was not competitive, our fitness levels were sure put to the test as we scurried, Anneka Rice style, around Central London on Thursday evening. It was a good job we put trainers on that morning!

So, why did the Hong Kong tourism board have us running around London, gathering clues to inform our next move, with a quick pit stop to sample some delicious Cantonese fusion canapés courtesy of a two-Michelin starred chef before ending up in Aqua, one of London’s chicest bars to sip two of their latest Asian inspired cocktails on a grand terrace overlooking London’s unmistakable skyline? To showcase a few of the many cultural connections between our great city and Asia’s world city and to give us a preview of the week long street festival, Hong Kong – Live in London, taking place in Central London this week.

Hong Kong – Live in London will run on South Molton Street from Monday 12th – Sunday 18th September and will feature a glut of themed entertainment, including Chinese acrobatics, face changing, live music and dancing, not to mention five specially commissioned interactive dragons, each armed with an iPad to educate visitors about Hong Kong’s vibrant culture. The Dragons will introduce visitors to the many fascinating aspects of Hong Kong’s diverse culture – cosmopolitan, fusion, variety, vibrancy and trends. But why a dragon? Next year in Hong Kong is the year of the dragon, an ancient mythical creature that symbolises power, strength, and good luck. The Dragon is an integral part of everyday life and symbolic of the energy and spirit of Hong Kong. So don’t miss your chance to catch daily entertainment on South Molton Street at 1pm, 3pm and 5pm and don’t miss the opening ceremony and dragon dance, which kicks off at 5pm on Monday 12th September.

But hold on, perhaps even more exciting is YOUR chance to win one of seven holidays for two to Hong Kong and experience this lively city first hand! The holiday includes two economy flights on Cathay Pacific Airways, four nights hotel accommodation and a meal for two at two-Michelin Starred Ming Court at the Langham Place Hotel in Mongkok. There are also seven chances to win £400 vouchers for Bosideng, South Molton Street’s newest menswear store due to open in July 2012 and a meal for two with a bottle of wine at Mews of Mafair! The competition runs daily through the duration of the festival so head to South Molton Street before 6pm each day and enter your name into the hat. Wow… It’s as simple as that!!! And if shopping is your thing, special offers and free gifts are to be had at participating stores on South Molton Street. Shops taking part include Ted Baker, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Lush Cosmetics and more. See full details here.

I also urge you to visit the Hong Kong Film Festival from Tuesday 13th – Friday 16th September at Prince Charles Theatre, Leicester Square, London. For more information and tickets, visit www.thinkasiathinkhk.com

Now back to my evening of discovery (Hong Kong style)… After receiving a single pink rose, a stylish pen and being encased in heady aromas of ginger flower upon entering the Langham Hotel in London, we shot off in taxis to The Dorchester. On entering we marched quickly through The Promenade to China Tang where we rather mysteriously entered the plush toilet cubicles as a group and listened to a poem that triggered off our next move playing out from the speakers above us. It was destination South Molton Street so we jumped in another cab but soon aborted and continued on foot as rush hour traffic got the better of us. We swerved the mass throng of eager fashionistas attending the annual Vogue’s fashion night out and snaked past discerning drinkers to arrive in the chefs dining room at Mews of Mafair. Surrounded by original wooden beams and a wall smothered in antique maps, we entered to find Chef Tsang Chiu King, Executive Chef of two-Michelin starred restaurant, Ming Court at the Langham Place Hotel in Hong Kong waiting for us, standing alongside Executive Chef of Mews of Mafair, Alan Marchetti.

Chef Tsang Chiu King has flown over to London especially for Hong Kong – Live in London and will be taking part in a culinary collaboration with Italian chef Marchetti in the kitchen at Mews of Mafair for two whole weeks from Monday 12th – Sunday 25th September. But it’s not just his kitchen paraphernalia that he has brought over, he’s also brought his extensive Cantonese fusion recipes with him and the kitchen at Mews of Mafair will be working hard to recreate Chef Tsang’s dishes and will be giving diners their own little piece of Hong Kong to remember. Expect dishes such as crispy sole fillet, sealed with Yuzu honey & juicy pineapple, home made black sesame shrimp toast, pan seared chicken and chestnuts coated in bold black truffles, buttery plump pumpkin and caramelised pork lion, braised in Merlot, sprinkled in black peppercorns. We all know that the sweet stuff is important to me and I’m excited to see that Tsang will be serving a green tea and lime tart with lychee ice cream and poached plums with vanilla rice pudding for dessert! The specially created limited edition menu will cost £19 for 2 courses and £24 for 3 courses. So if you don’t manage to get down the South Molton Street next week, you have an extra week to try to Michelin style Cantonese fusion dishes at Mews of Mafair!

And of course we were lucky enough to have a tester on Thursday. After watching Chef Tsang cook his signature dish of pan seared chicken and chestnuts coated in bold black truffles, we each slid the silver spoon into our mouths and waited. We waited for an explosion of flavours to hit us. And it did. The softness and sweetness of the steamed pumpkin with the saltiness of the chicken patty and unmistakable aroma of black truffle sauce had us all wanting more. I nodded my head in approval at Chef Tsang and a wide smile emerged across his face. He had certainly delivered the goods. Chef Tsang (via his capable interpreter) explained his ‘East meets West’ cooking style and inspiration– an example of this was the truffle and pumpkin used in his signature dish. Both ingredients are somewhat uncommon in Cantonese cooking but the combination certainly works.

Then came the crispy sole fillet, sealed with Yuzu honey & juicy pineapple. The sweet honey sauce matched perfectly with the tender white fish and the pineapple (I thought) was a nice touch. We were also given a glass of Mudhouse Sauvignon Blanc, which is a recommended pairing. All dishes that will be served at Mews of Mafair from Monday 12th – Sunday 25th September will have a suggested wine pairing, yet another nod to Tsang’s East meets West philosophy.

After scraping the sticky honey off my front teeth, I turned around to see a tray of delicious looking homemade black sesame shrimp toast. I’ve always been a sucker for prawn toast and I couldn’t wait to stick my honey clad teeth into it. My mouth is watering just remembering the crisp yet indulgently oily toast, accompanied by a butterflied prawn with the fantastic black sesame topping. It was so good, I snuck another one after everyone had taken one off the tray. Tsang worked his magic and as we ran out of the restaurant, I was planning my trip back next week.

In fact, the whole evening really opened my eyes to Cantonese cuisine and culture, and if my experience was anything to go by then vistors to Hong Kong – Live in London will not be disappointed. I can’t begin to count the amount of times my dad visited Hong Kong on business when I was a child. I had (and still do) a passion for stationary and the bags and bags of quirky, colourful goodies that were given to me as presents upon his return kept me quietly occupied for months. Not to mention the empty suitcases that he filled and brought back with clothes that had my brother’s friends extremely envious. I’ll never forget his stories of Hong Kong reaching all of your senses in one go because as soon as he walked out of his hotel, the sight, sounds and smells hit him immediately. Then the stories of how people trade – seeing people carrying wheelbarrows full of jewellery, clothes and trinkets and selling to the passers by.

It seems there is a common misconception that Hong Kong is predominantly visited as a business destination and is something of a gateway between the UK and other areas of Far East and Australasia. But just from the brief insight that I had on Thursday, it is obvious that Hong Kong offers so much more as a holiday destination in its own right. I’d love to experience this vibrant city and see it for myself!

As a result of Thursday’s excitement, I felt inspired to try something that I have NEVER attempted before… cooking Cantonese style. I asked Chef Tsang what the five most important ingredients in Cantonese cooking are. His answer was salt, sugar, soy sauce, vegetable oil and a wok. So the next day we set off to Hoo Hing, a Chinese supermarket not too far from our house to buy a trolley full of ingredients that I had mostly never cooked with before. The result was a delicious combination of duck breast with home made damson sauce, bok choi and shiitake mushroom. See the recipe here. Ok, so it’s not quite on the scale of Chef Tsang’s delicacies but considering that this was our first venture into Cantonese cooking, we both devoured it and vowed to experiment further within the realms of Cantonese cuisine. We also picked up ingredients for pork dumplings, which will be on the menu Tuesday evening!

Hong Kong – Live in London takes place on South Molton Street on Monday 12th – Sunday 18th September and features live entertainment daily at 1pm, 3pm and 5pm.

Tip
Hong Kong – Live in London will no doubt get busier towards the end of the week so get down there early in the week to be in with a chance of winning that fantastic trip for two to Hong Kong!

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Pan fried duck with damson sauce, bok choi and shiitake mushrooms

11 Sep

This dish was inspired by my recent London treasure hunt, where I was given an insight into the fascinating culture of Hong Kong. Read more about my experiences here.

Ingredients

2 duck breasts
1 star anise
3 sprigs of rosemary
25 butter
10 shiitake mushrooms
1/2 red chilli, cut into rings (keep seeds in)
200g bok choi
A few drops of fish sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp groundnut oil
3 cloves garlic
120g white rice
Sea salt and pepper to season

For the damson sauce

3 cm ginger, grated
1 red chilli, seeds removed and diced
225g damsons, stoned and halved
75g light muscovado sugar
15ml balsamic vinegar

Method

For the damson sauce

1. Stone the damsons and place into a pan, along with the balsamic vinegar, chilli and ginger. Cover with the sugar and plase on a medium heat. Let the sugar dissolve and leave to bubble for 5 minutes or until the damsons are soft
2. Blend the damson mixture until smooth and the pass through a sieve to get rid of all of the pulp

For the duck

1. Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees
2. Score the skin of the duck and rub with salt and pepper
3. place into a pan on a medium heat and fry for 6-7 minutes. Add the butter, star anise and thyme and baste
4. Place into a the oven and cook for 6 minutes (pink) and 10 minutes (well done)

For the bok choi and shiitake mushroom

1. Heat the oil in a wok for 30 seconds. Add bok choi for two minutes until the leaves are slightly wilted
2. Add mushrooms and fry for a further two minutes
3. Add chilli and garlic and fry for a further minute
4. Add the fish sauce and soy sauce at the end just before serving

Plate up and enjoy the delightful flavours of Cantonese cuisine!

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Vintage at Southbank Centre

12 Jul

Vintage 5

Let me set the scene. My boyfriends family are huge advocates of vintage, whether that be music, fashion, design or films. I met my boyfriend in a field at Bestival in 2007 and I remember thinking that it was cool that his dad and little brother (who was 10 at the time) came for a couple of days. We went back to Bestival for the next couple of years and as we started to see the changes, the way that it was expanding so fast, we decided to give it a miss the following year.

It was the same year that my boyfriends parents had an idea. To encompass everything that they are passionate about and hold their very own festival. A relationship with Goodwood was established and the date was set – August 13th – 15th 2010. See my post on the event last year here.

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Anyone that went last year will know how fantastic it was. A high street in a field, post war silver service in The Torch Club, the BEST club venue in the form of The Warehouse and an array of live music to knock the socks off any other live music festival. It wasn’t an event just focusing on music, the weekend played host to the biggest vintage market in the world, a cinema curated by Stephen Woolley, live catwalk shows and lots more.

Vintage 2

This year, they have decided to link with the Southbank Centre and the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain celebrations. Can you think a more perfect fit? From 29th – 31st July, the Royal Festival Hall will be set dressed as you have never seen it before. Its six levels will be transformed into a multi-venue playground where, over 13 hours each day (from 12pm to 1am), pass holders can learn the dances of the decades, take in over 70 live performances, boogie along to the tunes of 150 DJs, enjoy exclusive catwalk shows and decade specific make-overs, sample Vintage food and cocktails, shop at one of world’s most exciting Vintage marketplaces, and get style hunted as Vintage at Southbank Centre calls out for people to glam up.

Vintage 4

And I’m here to tell you about the food aspect, of course. Ticket holders can immerse themselves in the tastes of days gone by with food to fit the music and fashion, and historically linked eating opportunities, not to mention some fantastic period cocktails from the bars. Take for example the North South Divide Pub where Northerners can treat themselves to beef stew and a pint of ale, while Southerners can enjoy pea soup and a glass of Pimms before taking part in outrageous games and sing-along in the specially created boozer. Sneak a ‘Bootleg’ cocktail in the hidden Shhh! 1920s Prohibition club… Be sure not to tell anyone though! Take a break from the afternoon tea dance to sip on a Gin Martini in The Torch club, or kick back and relax with an ‘Alabama Sidecar’ amidst a soundtrack of Tiki and Exotica in the Leisure Lounge. As nightfall descends it’s to time to hit the Style Studio dance floor… But there’s always time for a ‘Cosmo’ before the disco dancing commences. In The Warehouse its paper cups and lager from the tin served from a bar made of pallets; truly authentic. There will be themed and dare we say it, nostalgic nibbles in abundance – think Cheesy Wotsits, Skips and Pork Scratchings (those were the days). For a more substantial feed, head up to the Penthouse terrace where you will find bangers, baps and plenty of ketchup at the Great British summer BBQ.

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Skylon will also be getting involved in the Vintage fun. For the Vintage weekend only, the restaurant will be serving a specially created afternoon tea with Vintage inspired cocktails such as ‘Old Fashioned’ and ‘Colony’. Diners can listen to 1920s and 1930s live music and 78s on old Gramophones while they dine at dimly lamp lit tables. I cannot wait to bask in elegance as I sip my martini and nibble on dainty cakes.

If the food offering inside isn’t enough, all 19 restaurants that surround the Royal Festival Hall will be participating. Sip a ‘Papa Dobles’ Daiquiri, which was Ernest Hemingway’s usual tipple in Cuba at Las Iguanas (ticket holders can enjoy 2 for 1 cocktails), a ‘Vintage Bombay Punch’ at the Dishoom Chowpatty Beach Café or maybe you will opt for a 70s soul BBQ at Feng Sushi on the Festival Terrace. The kids can join in too at Yo Sushi, who will be holding hour-long Mini Ninja classes to teach children how to make sushi. 1950s British diner come posh transport caff, Canteen will be serving their renowned range of classic British dishes such as sausages and mash with onion gravy, fish and chips and Scotch eggs. Also on the menu will be a range of pies with seasonal ingredients, encased in delicious buttery pastry. But don’t forget to leave room to delve into a nostalgic British dessert. Options include a decadent treacle tart with clotted cream, crumble with custard, or homemade jelly and ice cream!

I’m writing this to get the food aspect of Vintage out there. Vintage is just as much about the food experience as the music, fashion etc… and I’d LOVE to see some of you there.

Head to www.vintageatsouthbankcentre.co.uk or www.vintagebyhemingway.co.uk for further information and tickets, priced at £60 per day.

Ticket holders can book meals at Skylon by emailing skylonreservations@danddlondon.com

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